Chatelaine Chef Series

You might be thinking it’s unnatural to combine rosemary and caramel corn, but that s- -t works. Unlikely combinations have given us such amazing things as Alien vs. Predator, plumcots, and Bananas in Pajamas. Keep an open mind and taste the future of dessert. Oh yeah. -Thug Kitchen

A rice bowl is a wondrous thing, but often – despite the simplicity of its title – a rather cluttered and complicated one. Here, I have pared it back, to make a gorgeously seasoned rice bowl, with nothing more than a few seeds, herbs, and radishes stirred through it, and an avocado to top it. It’s a simple take on an inspiringly expansive idea. So please use this as a starting point only. It’s very much a non-recipe recipe, and every time I make it, I add something different, depending on what’s at hand. -Nigella

I love thyme and sprinkle it wantonly in my cooking, but I wanted a cake that relied on it as a leading ingredient, not merely as a decorative flourish. Besides, with a rosemary loaf cake under my belt (in Feast ), I had no doubt that it would work. And it does. Don’t be alarmed at the amount of thyme in the cake batter, as it doesn’t overwhelm. It charms. - Nigella

This is one of my favourite suppers, although there’s nothing that says you can’t serve this as a vegetable side as part of a more conventional meal. And you could also bolster it further by crumbling in some feta. - Nigella

Another lovely mushroom curry from Coorg, this time made without coconut milk. Serve with rice, rice breads or rice noodles.